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Guardian. Founded 158.7

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CHARLOETETOWN, CANADA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20. 1944

GATIIER FORCE T0 IIALT

P57

(lovers Prince Edward Island Like the Dew

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MAXIMS

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8 PAGES

Subscript

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Iiilicr 0f Non. John Bracken Bias

SASKATDON. DeO. 19 —- (C?) -— Iini. EJA. Bracken. another of == Progressive Conservative party lead- u. John Bracken. died here early ioday at the home of her daughter. iIrs. .. Mya riewas 83 rs old and had been in ill health

r some t e.

OITAWA. Dec. lll - (C?) — Word of his mother's death in Saskatoon last nigh‘. reached John Bracken. Pr essive Conservative

. . r1 Montreal two hours

.cre he was to leave on a flight.

. to Britain. party headuuurtcrs said today. Ho, postponed his trio and rc-

lrrmed to Ottawa ,

The funeral rnshaolv will be held miter to Olivet United Church at

svale. near Seele-yis Bav in Leeds ill be buried in the

Oounty . ixmetery there.

Sir Ernest MncMwillan To Tour Australia

She w

TORONTO. Dec.- iii-Sir Ernest IIscMillan, conductor of the Tor- onto Sym hony Orchestra. leaves here shorty after April 6 on atour for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. it was announced to- dly- Sir Ernest will give concerts in the principal Australian cities and also in army camps.

Coming Events

. "Rice Point Bchol Concert, Dze. » "at. 12-11-21.

‘Och: Bali. c353?“ =‘i.f’.'.‘°""o.i%‘fl‘t9ii

‘ "ohrllhnfl; "'- . lire School. Dgbagrsfb-gr Alljihnamn

" WIS-M.

"Christmas Concert at Glenna- llil School, Thursday night. Dec. "It ia-ac-ii

‘lrllhristmas Concert, Cornwall I1. Wednesday. December 20th Emission aoc and 10c. r2-1a-2o-2i

tiiwlna live and dressed ocul-

' okysrgrgayifiii mlrcf-‘ir-lfr‘.

School Concert. Pow-

eopnwnn ‘I Girlie l-Iaii. Wednesday. Dec. ' 12-20-11

\ ‘c K fi lcbcci, lkidliofdbcoerrrbcragaerligikaiai

“g9. O. I". . weerklly dbrgvaddzasta HOW CB!‘ e P!"

“Y "vi-Ina a to ans. , 12-19-11

' aw i

no .51.‘; °g§§ ‘ 01' W II 0G ' _ j-Mowzwift Canadian cohort».

16-51 u i“

. Wdcr your Brev Chi kn . jwumbmmgt dalivericw of _ ' v cochneg. nniaecipaduxlcesc filial- m. Emerald. ‘ia-zc-aif

this eek I will be at Al any Station. from til 4

I! and A. C. Green. li-ro-St.

BINDING

“i special debate on Greece tomor-

‘BTC. PRIVATE RECEIVES V. C. FROM HANDS OF KING GEORGE

PTE. ERNEST ALVIA (Smoky) Smith of New Westmins- Can-ad-afs latest winner of the Victoria Cross

By FRANK LOWE

LONDON, Dec. 19-401“ Cable)- The private in the colorful kilt oi the Seirforih Highlanders of Carr- nda stood rigidly at attention while the King said: "Here's a little pre- sent for you from inc." handing him a leather-covered case.

And 30-year-old Ernest Alvia (Smokey) Smith was holding in his hand the Victoria Cross-Can- Mill's first private and the second soldier from New Westminster, B. (3.. to win the Empire's highest a- ward for valor in this war.

"That's about, all there was to the investlture." said the short. dark, soldier with a quick grin, telling how he received the medal Monday at the second private in- vestiture in the history of Buck-

ingham Palace. The other one. u few weeks ago, was for his fellow- townsman. Maj. John (Jack) Keeq fer Malrony. I

Smith won the award for B81- lairtry in helping to hold the Savio River bridgehead fprged by the Seziforih Highlanders north of Ce- scna in the Canadian Corps‘ sec- tor cf Italy last Oct. 2i.

Mahony also won his V.C. in It- aly, for refusing to yield a bridge- head across the Melin River west of Casslrro last May 24, although thrice wounded.

‘rho New Westminster private said: “I guess the investiture only‘ took a couple of minutes but seemed like hours to me." The King and Smith were alone in the King's private suite ior the formal decoration oi British Oolumblws mm v.0, since hostilities began.

Later smith, who with quips and quick come-backs seemed to be the most self-possessed Canadian yet to win the V.C-, said ire knew no- thing of the award until he arriv- ed here from Italy Sunday.

“I thought I was liking home on regular Christmas leave whcnthey told me to prick up." said the sol- (iigr who Lids been serving overseas for five years including l8 months in Sicily and Italy-

"I didn't ask any questions-all I could think about was Bettin!

homo.

"So when they told me here I was to gel‘. the V.C. I ust iauslled and nskcd who they i- flllBht U10? were kidding. But damned if they weren't right."

That was as much as he WWW any about his feat oi holding the Savio River bridgehead.

Smith escaped ithout _a scratch

‘Tiaontinued on p ge 8. 001.1)’ ..__._.._._

Widowdif Sir Henry Thornton Ilies lnILS.

MONTREAI-n-DTIIIQ - (cm - Word was received here tonight of the death in a nursing home near Philadelphia oi Lady Thornton, widow oi Sir Henry Worth Thornton former chairman and president cf the Canadian National Railways.

Born in New Castle, Penn. the former Vir lnia Blair married Sir Henry in 1 0i and came here with him from England in i922. In re- cent years. she made her home in Pennslyvania.

Debate On Greece In British House Today

LONDON. Dee. 10—(CP)--Thé

House of Commons will hold a

row. with Prime Minister Churchill expected to speak.

Nail Traffic Across » Strait lip For Nov.

Itail freight traffic across Nor- ithumberlan/d Strait in November this year increased Just over six and a half per- cent cartpared with the same month a year‘ BB0. it was learned rom f rel by

Division. aflIiedian National Rail- ways. The totals were, this year, 8.001 cars. last ear, 2.888.

noomizuz fre ht amounted to 1,370 cans, 142 lees than a yea: 8B0 but the deficit was more than made up in outgoing traffic. with 1.711 cars leaving the Province. an increase of 335 over November. 1943

The increase in outgoing traffic was more than accounted for by potato shipments. which cllimbed to 1.200 cars, compared with '12s last year. The increased potato shi menis reflected the much better yied this year.

A weak turnip market cut ship- ments of that crop by more than 50 Der cent 136 cars going forward in November this year to the till last

year.

Two car-loads of Grrlsimes trees were shipped during the month.

For the second month hay ship- ments occupied o place in the re- port. I) cars beina shipped.

Other shipments, with Novemb- er's figures lost year where avail- able. include:

Outgoing -butter and three: eggs. 13: fish, 25: 153 (162): starch, nine; irish mos, five; cranberries, one; blueberries, one.

Incoming — automobiles (mostly trucks) sevmr; coal, (501); fruits. 22; flour and feed. roe (172); fertilizer. B6 r52): izirs and oils, 113 (ll-i); lime. 25: lumber. 50: hard- ware, 44: livestock. five; meats. 25: sugar. seven; aerated water. seven; ‘molasses. ten‘.

Ilse Iype 0f ii-2 0n West Front

_ chew.

CLEVELAND, Dec. lll-WA?)- Mai-Gen. Levin H. Campbell, chief cf army ordnance. disclosed today that the new secret German “V" weapon used by the enemy in his current Western Front offensive is a. variant of the V-B rocket which bombed London.

Price Details At

Fur Auction Sale Nelii At Montreal

(Special to The Guardian) MONTREAL. Dec. lll-The Can- adian Fur Auction Com any‘: sale of silver fox alts held ere today drew a fair a tandance. The offer-

it ing consisted of 12.554 pelts, ilrree-

quarters of them last season's pelts and the balance, which were fresh pelts, composed mostly oi unprime and flat furs.

specials were 58 per cent sold at an average of $62.75; white marked were S7 per cent sold at an aver- age oi $37.74; regular one-half to three-quarter silvers were l6 per cent sold at an average of $23.82; selected fulla were 55 per cent sold at an average oi $39.33; regular fulls were 29 per cent sold at an average of $29.84: interiors were l7

er cent sold at an average 19.04; low grades were 41 percent sold at an averu e oi . c.

Thirty per cen of the total of- fering was sold.

(The above information was supplied by Mr. George A. Call- beck, manager oi the fur market- ing department of the Canadian National Pox Breeders Associatl ii. Summersi’ .) *

Fur Buyer Reports

The following telegram has been received by Mr. W. ChesterBJi/fc- Lrrre, Charlottetown, from Mr. Fritz Weisaler, fur buver who attended the Canadian Fur A n Com- pany's sale at Montreal this week:

“Special foxes sold 862.72. noes average; selected fulls, $87.74. gross oversize; half to three-quarter all- ver. $23. gross average, a decline l2 per cent from September sale,l6 per cent sold.

"Selected skins 5B rind-ranged from white face 37 per cent sold. “Milw- gcd from September sale.

“Present silver fox sale still con- tinues.

"Ranch mink declined 20 per cent."

Atlantic iiliarter Not Formal Pact

WASHINGTON. Dec. l0—(1\P) - President Roosevelt declared today that the Atlantic Charter did not exist u a formal donn- by himself and

Churchill, but that he still stood for its prin-

el. '

I

of to 41 the number sunk

»..._..___.i_._

I War Situation

Las-twbiight I

__.-._____.___i___ ___

By KIRKE L. SIMPSON Associated Press War Analyst

There are heartening intimation: that the German counter-attack on the American 1st Army front has already failed of its indicated main

[ID113059-

Desplte the growing German threat to the right. 1st Army elements on the left flank are officially reported across the Roar and in the out.-

sklrts of Duran. which guards the

road to Cologne. The obvious tac-

tical basil of tho German counter move was to try to force diversion of American troops from the Boer sector and possibly also to compel a

_ shifting of 3rd Army reserves northward from the Saar area to help 1st

Army comrades stein the Gerrnnn attack.

While the scene and nature of

dispositions to rnect the counter-ut-

taok are not revealed. intensive efforts to stabilize the front are report- ed. It is obviously being done. however. without prejudice as yet to the Allied ffensives along the Boer or In the Saar Basin sector.

That the Germans are paying putable. Massed Allied air power weather.

heavily for ground gained Is indis- hus been thrown in despite bad

A sustained vvcntbe break l.n Allied favor could convert the coun- ter-attack into a. death trap for much of the heavy forces committed

to it from scanty German reserves

which It has moved forbid: blitl operati

In, the west. The terrain through on an extensive scale and

grows worse ahead. It seems all but impossible that the Germans can hope to break through deeply enough in any direction to do more than dlsnrrnnge Allied attack schedules in their main assault centres. Their

communications with the rear in

the MnImedy-Stavelot area are

necessa iiy grooved to narrow east-west valleys and subject to utter

disruption by air in vlanal bombing

weather. »

Assuming Gen. Eisenhower has available reserves to seal off the ruptures in the 1st Army front once they are brought up. it is by no means certain that he might not prefer to draw the enemy deeper- Int" the rugged and forested terrain ahead in Belgium before closing with

hlrn.

A sustrrntial port of the German army in the west now is out of its fortifications and pill-boxes, fighting In the nggn, Tho who“; “m”, of the war in Western Europe could be drastically altered, the end 3f the struggle be brought substantially closer. If that attacking force

could be trapped and destroyed.

500 DISABL.

u) CANUCK

F IGHIlIjIRS ARRIVE IIOIIIE

By JOHN LQBLANC

HALIFAX, Doc. 1B—(CP)—Dis- tbled but. elated at the prospect of Christmas at home. about 500 Can- adian flghters from the land, air and see fronts sailed into this port today in the teeth of a snowstorm that gave them an almost-forgot- ten taste of a Canadian holiday season.

Soldiers from the mud of Italy and the western front predomin- ated in the contingent aboard the Canadian hospital ship Lady Nei- son, all eager to pile into trains and head for their homes from coast to coast. Only a sprinkling of airmen and sailors were in the movement.

Though many were crippled with missing limbs or bedridden with other wounds or blinded, all were in uniformly high spirits as they reached their homeland again, some of them after several Years over the sea. For all of them. the favorite topic of pre-disembarkat- ion talk was Christmas and new soon they would get home for it.

Gathered around a game of poker in the same ward-w‘.t.h matches as the stakes-were those soldiers: Pie. Robert O'Neil, Wind- sor, Ont; Cpl. Bill Howarth and Tpr. Howard Wilkes oi Verdun. Que.; T r. Roy Matheson of Re- serve Mnes. NS; Fus. Leo Ron- deau of sixteen Islands. Que, and Pte. Elie) Paquet of Souris. P.E.I.

Machine gun bullets near Ant- werp cost Pte. Charles Toole of Bonshaw, P.E.I., his right foot and fractured an arm. He was with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

Nope iliver Native Passes At Ottawa

OTTAWA. Dec. 1B—(OP)—J. F. McNally, "ll, well-known Ottawa insurance agent. died today after a lengthy illness. He was a native of Hope River, P. E. I.

Number Of Jap Ships Lost Raised To 41

PEARL HARBOR. Dec. lB-JAP) —Adm. Chester W. Nimitz today reported the additional destruc- tion of l4 ships and small emit in the carrier plane sweeps over Luzon Dec. l3. I4. and i5, raising of enemy vessels

i.rr the three-day attack.

The communique revised down- ward from 66 to Bl the number of vessels da ed.

H118 U.S. combat losses were placed i_a_t 27 planes.

Push Fought To Standstill In One Area

By was ‘Ffabnaunan

IN BELGIUM. SOUTH OF MONSCIIAU. Dec. lB-(AW-Ver- eran American infantrymen. flung into one of the wars ivierdest bat- tles on a moment's notice. brought the German attack on the north- ern flank near here in a halt to- day in a welter- of wrecked tanks and dead men.

At least six German counter- nttacks were smashed.

Farther to the south the situa- tion remained fluid and obscure, with deep German penetrations reported. but in this mountainous pine-covered area, where millions of snow-covered evergreens stand like Christina" trees. the Germans’ Ellie Guard tank columns have been stopped and hurled back while their flying bombs still thun- der overhead.

Buried Alive By Shell; Newsman Lives

I ___

HALIFAX. Dec. l9 —- (CV) Buried iilive for three hour's when n. German shell landed at his feet, Capt. Cliff Chaddertriir of Winnipeg lived to return today to Canada, where he hopes to re- sume the less turbulent life of a newspapermztn.

The smiling Westerner. who left the Winnipeg Bureau of The Can- adian Press to-join thc Army as a private in 1940. came back aboard the Hospital Ship Lady Nolan‘: with one foot missing. the other shattered and both legs riddled with shrapnel wounds.

"But l’. was lucky." he grinned from his cot as he explained irow the upper part of hLs bodv bail been sheltered as the Nazi 8i!- millimetre shell dropped beside him. He was wounded near ilel- gium's Leopold Canal while Ugh’.- fng with the Royal Winnipeg itiiles —the “Little Black Devils."

By the time they had due him out, infection had set in. and the doctors are still operating on him. A piece of bone was extracted from his remaining leg in a shipboard operation on the way across the Atlantic.

I I I

' commander,

War Pla

HALIFAX. Dec. 1o - (or) _~ The siren»; tricks of war still‘ mystified three Carrrxlian Arnryj

officer's as they hobbled into Can-i ad toda from i) g Lazy Neg“, 1e ospital Ship:

Flor the three, all from the samgI unit. had been wounded in almost! identical fashion. by mg game Nazii Weiifwfl at olmmt tire same time‘ rang jisn the some; 3:91p ‘

° term-Ely. and with

Puzzled shake of the heflxtxitanyMafi’, Alan Nicholson of Montague, p. E 1-. and Capt. Stan Smith cf Smiths Cove,N. 5.. and men; H F‘ McI-‘ee of Fredericton told how each hi; 15F? l“ the Italian Aug. Il

‘lire trio —representing each of the Maritime Provlnces—were withI the West Nova Scotia RcgimentI ivlien it happened. ffhov had cr-os-I sod the Fogrllh Raver. and tireir! unit Was spearheading [[19 on! lack on the Nazis’ Gothic Line. i

The (Jfl-Dtoin and the Mayor; each was Ifiafilng a company when lie stopped on a 13ml "line and had the 15;! blown cff. Th? Same thin." ha-t-pened m the Lieutenant. as Ire was leading a PIBIQOII of (he Miller's company.

A" illlve Wre- in hish spirits as they told oi their strange partner- ship in fate. "What the hell, we're Mire now. shouted the Major as 3"“ await-mi disembarkation.

Tho lieutenant was Ilalaclesf or llle fact ihat he had first started (ieitillv. amiind out nf bed. "I soioeci Just rode-y." he explained with an prmlonrrtcrv wave of his crutches.

YanksDUsIng New Type Fragmentation Bomb

LONDON. Dec. 1l)—(CP)—A new till-W“ ‘ "fragmentation bomb, made. of 265 pounds of TNT wrap- ped 1h Wire. is being dropped on the Germans. it was disclosed to- day. Experiments showed that the wire bomb gave the greatest num- blecrhof deadly fragments persquare

‘i .

I

I ' I

d lost n‘ fighting on

Algonquin, Sioux Are Back At Base

LONDON, Dec. l9-—(CP Cable)- The Canadian Destroyers Algon- quin and Sioux have returned ‘.0 base after participating in a series of operations with units of the British Home Fleet and the Fleet Air Arm ofi the Norwegian coast,

the Royal Canadian Navy an- nounced today. Tire Canadian destroyers were

among the screen for British air- craft carriers whose planes on Dec. 8 set ablaze two BOO-ton merchant ships and two self-propelling bur- ges. Mines also were laid aloni; the enemy coast.

Earlier, in an operation an- nounced Dec. l._they were on hand when a troopship filled with Ger- man soldiers was sunk. two other strips beached and another badly damag .

For days the fleet was ‘beset by n, sc-knor gale. The Srouxs Whaler “m Smashed by the heavy seas and motor boats and Carley floats torn loose. _

The Algonquin esca ed with su- perficial damagc. a tl-rouih I)" Lt-Cmdr. D.W. Piers of Halifax. said the ship had n?“ or been through a more tryrriif time.

Nazis Ilse Tanks in Italian Front Push

ter

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS. MEDITERRANEAN. Dec. iib-(CP- Reutors)-—Field Marshal Kesselrlng today threw in tanks to sup!!!)li- German counter-attacks against Britiur 8th Army forces fannlnfl out into the Lombardy Plain north of Frrcnza. and forced them back to the Rimini-Boiogna railway lino running Just north of the ell-Y-

The German High Command was making determined attempts to keep Gen. Sir Richard McCrec- ry's troops compressed in ‘£1101! present battleground.

The enemy counter-thrust ap- peared to indicate the Gflhlflns were fraying trouble extricating their forces from the salient be- tween Faenaa and the impofiaiil? road centre of Bagnacavalio. iii miles north-northeast of Fhenza.

More counter-attacks were laun- ched against the Canadian bridge- head west of the Candle Navilgio and north of Baflnacuvallo. lend- mg to bitter fighting around the town. wlrkh the Germans are des- perately defending. -

OTTAWA. Dec. iB-(CIIU-Mlin- itions Minister Howe in a state- ment ioniglri, asked all Canadians Working in gun and ammrrrrrtli-rl

the job" throughout the holiday

land explosive plants lo “$111K 0“

season and to keep absenteeism rrt

r r

I I MAJ. ALAN NICI-IOL‘ I

—-I

Islanders Nome 0n Hospital Ship “Lady Nelson”

The following Islanders, veter- ans oi’ the fighting on the vari- ous Europenn battle fronts, ar- rived in Halifax yesterday on the hospital ship, Lady Nelson:

ajor A. Nicholson; next of kin. Mrs. Belle Nicholson (wife). Kilmuir. King's County.

Sgt. L. S. Bntchllder; next of kin, Mrs. Mary E. Butchilder (wife), Georgetown. '

Sgt. J. D. Murphy; next. of kin, Donald W. Murphy (son). 41 Elm Ave., Charlottetown.

Cpl. G. K. Profit; next of kin, Mrs. Winnifrerl L. Profit (wife). l6 Upper Iiiilsboro Street, Char- lottetown.

Spr. J. B. II. Perry; neat of

kin. Mrs. Zeta G. Perry (wife). ltliscouclre. Gnr. D. R. Andrew; next of

kin, Mrs. Elinor Andrew (moth- er). St. Eleanors. Pie. C. .l. Aitken: Mrs. Cather- ine B. Aitken (wife). Albany. Pte. I. A. McCar-viile; next. of